chauncey

and that's what they're doing! from what i've read here in this very topic they've already tested the various transfer and switch tracks, the station brakes and tires, the restraints and whatever lifts the seats up into the flying position, and so on, and so forth, and eventually they'll test everything else, but they are currently testing (it's just in the early stages, that's all!) — not that any of this really matters in the least… i honestly kind of wish i hadn't even posted anything to begin with!

yeah, i got that, but, uh, why? i just think it's kind of stupid… damn i'm in a bitchy mood today! i think it's my cold, or whatever it is…

uh, i think that, technically, this all is testing — isn't it? no, they're not running the trains through the entire circuit yet, but they are testing to make sure all of the ride systems work, and what not… it just seems wierd to keep hearing people say “no testing yet, just…” when the “just…” clearly is testing (just not the sort that gets coaster geeks all worked up!) i don't think we'll see run throughs until the theming comes along more, since there's still a lot to be done, and much of it is quite close to the track (hence the reach envelope…), but i could be wrong…

honestly, no. i think that with Disney parks the most important things are to get there when the parks opens, yet be willing and able to stay as long as nessecary, and have a plan, yet be willing and able to change it as nessecary! but, really, most importantly: have a plan — no matter how simple or silly it may be! once i went to the Magic Kingdom with a plan consisting of “ride everything with less than a 15 mintue wait, ride nothing with more than a 30 minute wait, and go clockwise!”, and had a great time! i've been to Disney on week days, weekends, during peak season, off season, even the dreaded and cruel Christmas week (definitely not recommended!), and i've never missed anything i really wanted to do, unless it was closed… although, just so you know: if the park is open extra hours it's usually because they're expecting extra crowds! i usually plan to go on the days with the shortest hours, because i can typically get more done! uh, nothing… my “usual” Hollywood Studios strategy is to get a park hopper, go to Animal Kingdom for the day, and then make my way over to Hollywood Studios in the evening to do the “big” rides (basically, Tower Of Terror and Rock 'n' Rollercoaster), and whatever doesn't have a line! i did go to Hollywood Studios for a day once, and i did enjoy myself, but i ended up doing a lot of stuff i'd typically skip (shows, shops, etc.) — that might just be me, though…

that's just cruel! i'd love to be able to go on one of these trips, but the only one which looks like it may still even be a possibility is Texas, and that's only really the slimmest of the slimmest of the slimmest possibilities (basically, as impossible as it could be while still being possible, if that makes any sense!) — i hate being broke! but, yeah: Thunderbird looks so incredibly awesome, and i'll probably never have a chance to ride it (especially not with ERT!)

uh, hmm… Primeval Whirl at Animal Kingdom — i rode on the left side, and hated it so much that i decided i never wanted to ride it again, even if it meant missing the credit for the right side! i don't regret it for even a second, but, then again, i'll probably get it one of these days (we usually go to Animal Kingdom once a year, or so…) Pteranodon Flyers at Islands Of Adventure — it didn't really look like much, and it had like an hour long wait! i guess i probably could have went back and gotten it later, since it started raining in the afternoon, and the park basically emptied (i got near walk-ons on both Dueling Dragons, and The Revenge Of The Mummy was sending out half-empty trains!), but i didn't even really think to! i kind of regret it, especially since i haven't been to Islands Of Adventure since (i mean, how does that even happen?) everything at Old Town — i went down there once after a trip to Orlando, but i was so exhausted that i decided i would rather be asleep than racking up credits… besides, the place looked like absolute crap, and there didn't seem to be too many things open (but it might just have been that there was nobody there!) The Starliner — i kept putting off going to Miracle Strip park, until it shut down, and then kept putting off going back to Cypres Gardens, until it's rides shut down, and i deeply regret both! i truly hope that someone steps up and saves it, again (just so long as they keep it in Florida!)

no, it's not really much like a suspension system — i mean, maybe it would be if the road wheels were “spring loaded”, but, as i understand it (or maybe misunderstand it?), they're not, at all. they do “spring load” the guide and upstop wheels (or something along those lines, at least, i think), but that's a totally different thing — basically: instead of using the “gap” wheel assemblies which were the norm before B&M, they use flexible wheel assemblies (which serve the same purpose), and they're “spring loaded” so that the assembly actually flexes with the track, and doesn't just wobble around randomly!

well, i might be a bit weird, but, first: “airtime” is over-rated — as is “smoothness!” actually, i kind of like rough rides… the main thing that i look for in a coaster isn't so much any one element, or rides type, or whatever, it's intensity! i don't want to get off a coaster smiling and jumping for joy (although, that can be nice, i guess…), i want to get off bleeding, and crying, and scarred for life! in terms of “ride types”: i tend to prefer the classic look, and the rough, wild, and “out of control” ride, of wooden coasters, but steel coasters can do so much that wooden coasters simply can't do — or maybe just that wooden manufacturers simply aren't willing to do? (i'm not enough of an engineer to know!) — and, i quite like some of those things… i honestly think that all of these crazy ride types (inverted, floorless, etc) are silly gimmicks that serve no real purpose, and whatever originality they have wears off quickly (although, the rides can still be great for other reasons…) — besides, the “classic” seating position actually seems to provide a more thrilling and intense ride, somehow… in terms of “ride elements”: i want all types of forces — positive Gs, lateral Gs, negative Gs, etc — and i want them all as intensely as i can have them! i also want every kind of element — hills, turns, inversions, etc (and every kind of hill, turn, inversion, etc!) — and, again, i want them to be as intense as possible! i hate when a ride only focuses on one thing, and forgets everything else — i've never ridden a B&M “multi—looper”, for instance, that i thought wouldn't have been improved with a few less loops, and a few more hills, turns, etc… however, what creates the greatest sense of intensity, to me, are rapid changes in direction, equally rapid changes in forces, and pacing that makes it feels like the ride's constantly becoming faster and more “out of control” right up until the very end — and if it beats you up a bit, it only adds to the effect, as far as i'm concerned! also, for whatever it's worth, i've never ridden a “launch” which i honestly preferred to even a mediocre first drop…

Gwazi… i absolutely love this coaster, and will defend it against any and all of it's detractors (which seems to be pretty much everyone but me!), but, honestly, that's only because i ride it so damn often, and know it's “moods”: it's cranky as hell in the morning, only gets crankier as the day goes on, until it's gotten fully “warmed up” (basically, once the hottest part of the day is over, and it's started to cool down for the evening — or, it's been thoroughly drenched by rain!), and then it's probably the most completely wild, insane, out-of-control, “holy shit!”, awesome roller-coaster i've ever been on in my entire life! unfortunately, during normal hours that usually leaves Gwazi with an hour or two of running at it's best, and it seems like most people try to do it first thing in the morning! eek! it'd be nice if it could run closer to it's “peak” performance all day long (like the parks steel coasters do!), and, if there's anything that could be done about that, i'd be all for it (and i'd be all for Millennium Flyers no matter what! they're just about the sexiest coaster trains on earth…)

i just tried the videos again on another computer, and they work perfectly fine, so i guess the problem is just my old and crappy computer being old and crappy?!?!

i installed the latest version of Flash right after i posted, just to make sure it wasn't something stupid like that, and it didn't help at all…

uh, i'm on Verizon FIOS (fiber optic) — i'm not geeky enough to know whether that's good or not…

i'm having a lot of problems playing certain files, for some reason: the audio will play just fine, but the video will either play really choppy and out-of-sync, or it'll just freeze and not play at all (but the audio still works fine!) i think it might only happen with “good” quality files — like, with the Beech Bend videos you posted on the last page, the “old” one works fine, while the “new” one is actually worse than normal! — but i don't think it has anything to do with my connection, or whatever, since it happens even if i wait for the whole video to load! but, then again, i always have one problem or another with Flash videos (actually, they're the only sorts of videos i ever seem to have any trouble with!), so it might still be something over at my end…

i voted for JimmyBo's because i'd actually want to go there, Purplepills' because it made laugh the hardest, and Schmoofy's because, well, frankly, Ron Paul made me…

really, is that why you didn't like the movies? because they were “unrealistic”, because they weren't “believable”, because they were “fantasy?” sheesh! isn't that the whole point of movies!?! if you want reality go outside, go anywhere, but the last place you should be going is to a movie theatre! i haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire yet, but, uh, what's wrong with the old Warners gangster movies, exactly? those are some of my favorite films of all time! James Cagney is a god! i might have to see this Slumdog Millionaire thing after all… as far as the awards go: few of my favorite films were nominated for anything, and even fewer won anything, but i've got sort of strange taste (like, my favorite movie of the year was probably The Fall, and i actually really loved Speed Racer, etc.) i was really pissed off to learn that Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei didn't win for “The Wrestler”, but, on the other hand, i didn't see the performances which won, either, so…

uh, when did i say that? i don't believe that at all, really, it's just that reading over these stories, something just feels wrong to me deep down in my guts, and it's really turning me off to Hard Rock Park (which i had originally thought was a pretty cool idea, and felt kind of bummed about when i heard about their troubles!) of course, maybe your right: if i saw all the back-room dealings of the major chains laid bare like this i'd feel it was wrong to — i don't know, and i could never know — but i don't see how that could ever possibly make this any more right…

uh, why? what have any of the companies you mentioned, every single fun fair on earth (really? everyone?), or the entire nation of Japan (apparently!), done that are so unethical? i honestly can't think of anything — this little deal on the other hand? it just doesn't feel right to me…

well, then, at least we know what their plans are: rip out all the rides, and replace them with water-slides — they can call it “Hard Water Park!” that probably wasn't funny… this whole deal just sickens me, though — any desire i had to ever go to Hard Rock Park has vanished almost completely, just because i don't want to give up my money to any of these assholes!

i have to say that this coaster was only slightly above “at least it's a credit…” in my book, right up until i saw this: now it's “look, i know it's not finished yet, and the train will fly off the tracks, and i'll probably die, but, uh, can i ride it now anyways? please?!?!” that is pretty much as sexy as a coaster could ever possibly get to me, without being made out of wood… i can almost feel my ribs cracking already — and i like it!

what's wrong with Gwazi!?!?! i always feel bad for that ride — especially since i think it's pretty awesome (of course, having never been on one of the “good” GCI's, that might just be because i don't have anything better to compare it with…) Troy does look great, though… nice pictures, but i kind of wish they showed more of the coasters! back to Bobbejaanland for a second, sort of: has anyone ever seen this? hands down the best Bobbejaan Schoepen video, ever!

i was once very strongly opposed to the death penalty, and now i just as strongly support it, and i honestly don't know what changed so radically inside of me, or why — but i do know that i once imagined the suffering of the murderer, and now i imagine the suffering of their victims… perhaps the death penalty is just brutal and barbaric revenge, but, at this point in my life, i believe that revenge is exactly what both the murderer and the murdered deserve! not that i hope to really convince anyone that i'm right, which is why i didn't really make any sort of an argument in defense of my position — i mean, what kind of an argument can i give? it's really just a gut-level thing for me, and for most people, i imagine… now that's something i don't support! even in our world today there's this notion that we can somehow “prevent” crime, and all it really seems to lead to is treating everyone as if they were a criminal, which just horrifies me… but, that's another topic altogether…

it looks cool, but i wonder what that would actually be like to ride, though? is there anything even remotely similar out there? hmm… this ride certainly does look interesting, though — i don't really have a lot of faith in Maurer Söhne, honestly, based on what little i know of them, but i have enormous faith in Universal Studios, so…

whoa, those shots are just… whoa… wait, am i turning into Keanu Reeves? eek! save me! but, yeah, anyways: beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, stuff! i do kind of wish there was more context to the pictures, though, especially since they all seem to show so little! it's like you get these little flashes of this and that, and it's hard to really piece them all together — maybe that was what you were going for? i don't know…

so, am i the only one not enamored with these trains? the snake theming might be cool, i guess, if done well (and those photographs don't show enough detail for me to tell!), but the seating arrangement just seems kind of pointless…

well, i kind of have a problem with that — you seem to be trying to use the Mitch Hawker as authoritative “proof” that B&Ms are somehow “better” than Intamins, which is, of course, ridiculous! at the most all you can say is that more people who took that particular poll think that Intamin is better than B&M, and isn't this topic supposed to be about what you think? but, then again, how else could you ever really “settle” this issue? i guess you can't, and i guess that's also sort of the whole fun of debating it! of course, i can't really debate it, since i've never actually been on an Intamin rollercoaster (because i'm from Florida, and i'm broke!), but i will say this much: whenever a new Intamin ride comes out, i'm always excited to see what they've come up with this time — whenever a new B&M ride comes out, i honestly just don't care! B&M was once my favorite coaster manufacturer, but the couple of relatively “recent” B&Ms i've had a chance to ride were really dissapointing, and their layouts are so predictable that it's becoming pathetic! Intamin, though, at least seems to try and do different things, and while not everything they do looks all that impressive to me, there's enough that does to make me feel genuinely kind of awful about never having had a chance to ride one!